Edinburgh Monarchs v Berwick Bandits

There was a feeling that Berwick were equipped to give one of their better Armadale performances, and so it proved as they were still in with a chance of a match point at the final heat.

Probably the presence of William Lawson, and the fact that he had scored an away maximum last Sunday, was part of the reason expectations of the Bandits were high. However William didn?t have much of a night and only managed to beat a couple of home riders.

The men who mattered for the visitors were their middle pair of Josef Franc and Paul Clews. They gated well (unusual for Clews) but when required Clews also pulled off some spectacular passes. He only dropped points in the final race.

The first heat was pulled back for a Lawson flier, and though Fisher won the rerun, Lawson was close enough to suggest that he would be a strong opponent.

Heat 2 was a fairly comfortable home 5-1 though Franchetti gave chase well enough till falling on the final corner.

Aaron was in as rider replacement in heat 3 alongside guest Derek Sneddon, but Franc went ahead and won easily as Clews gave chase on Sneddon. With a decisive cut-back on the last corner he swept through to take a 5-1.

This was reversed right away by Wethers and Stoddart with Makovsky surprisingly ineffective.

Fisher took the rider replacement ride and beat Lawson again, with Sneddon taking the point, and we had eased into an 8-point lead.

This should have been extended in heat 6. Fisher missed the gate this time but Summers went ahead, with Makovsky splitting the Monarchs? pair. Ryan lined up an inside move going into the third corner but it was just too tight, and Makovsky came off and slid into the fence.

Whether Makovsky lent on Fisher or not, from the referee?s perspective it is always likely that the inside man will be blamed. Perhaps we could add ? especially if it is Fisher.

Aaron again got the better of the first corner in the rerun with a cutback but we had only shared a heat when we should probably have taken a maximum.

There were more problems up ahead. Franc led heat 7 from Wethers who was trying hard to make up the lost ground when he lost control on the fourth turn of lap two and fell very awkwardly. He needed an ambulance trip and there were concerns that he might not be able to resume.

Speedway?s hopeless rules insist on a rerun even though all the non-excluded riders had completed two laps (Matthew hadn?t) but Berwick got the 5-1 they deserved with Rajkowski disappointing in this one.

Summers won heat 8 easily and for the third time Sean Stoddart got himself into second behind his partner, but Aarnio forced his way past.

It was good to see Matthew Wethers emerge for a rider replacement ride in heat 9 and with Sneddon he took 5 over Makovsky to put us 10 up.

Berwick manager Dave Peet decided to use Paul Clews as the first TR, and even against our top pair of Fisher and Summers it paid off handsomely. The Bandits gated but Fisher flew past Franc down the back straight. He also made a hair-raising effort to catch Clews and a collision was narrowly averted, but in the end it was a 7-2 to Berwick with Summers nowhere.

If William Lawson was going to come good it had to happen soon, but it wasn?t in heat 11 in which we saw the familiar sight of Rajkowski and Wethers team riding to a 5-1. Lawson put in a very weak challenge.

Monarchs gated in heat 12 but the amazing Clews passed first Sneddon and then Rajkowski to keep his unbeaten run going. Unfortunately for Berwick their tail enders weren?t giving much support or they could have been pushing us very close.

Again Lawson and Makovsky were brushed aside in heat 13 as we went 47-34 ahead, allowing Berwick a second TR. This was Franc.

Rajkowski made the start at the first attempt but Franc moved out and brought Sneddon down, causing a stoppage. Derek was down for a bit, and referee McGregor broke new ground by preventing captain Wethers going to see how he was, ordering him back to the pits.

Franc made the gate in the second running to take a 6-3, meaning that Berwick needed a 5-1 from the final race to get within 6 points and take a match point.

Franc and Clews were good enough to achieve this but it was Fisher from gate three who forced ahead to win.

Wethers pressed from the back but could make no headway and we finished with a 10-point win.

HERMISTON MONARCH OF THE MATCH: Ryan Fisher.

Edinburgh Monarchs v Berwick Bandits

It?s a big weekend ahead for the Scotwaste Monarchs, with three Premier Trophy fixtures in as many days. The first of these is a home tie against the revitalised Berwick Bandits.

The Border side?s record at sunny Armadale is generally poor, so 3 points looks an almost racing certainty. However, incase there?s any complacency amongst the Champions, I would like to remind everyone of the huge home defeat inflicted way back in 1998, when the Bandits tracked a side which included the likes of Martin Dixon, Scott Robson and Peter Scully!

The Monarchs are aiming to stretch their unbeaten run against the Shielfield outfit to a highly impressive 11 meetings but, in order to do so, they?ll have to overcome the loss of popular Swede Thomas H Jonasson, who misses this clash after suffering concussion in a crash while racing for Elit Vetlanda earlier this week. The rider replacement facility will operate, with any his team mates eligible for an extra outing.

And Thomas isn?t the only Monarch with injury problems. As witnessed by the Sky TV audience, Andrew Tully crashed at Swindon while on Peterborough Panthers duty. The diagnosis was soft tissue damage in his shoulder. He is also missing but the rules allow to use a guest. In times like these it's always handy if you can turn to a former Monarch, so who better than last year's skipper, Derek Sneddon?!

Apart from that, it?s all systems go in the Scotwaste camp! Ryan Fisher was superb in the aforementioned Sky TV meeting and appears to be running into a rich vein of form in Monarchs? colours as well. Indeed, home performances this season have been very strong with all 7 chipping in more than their fair share of points.

Unsung hero Matthew Wethers continues to go about his business on the quiet and has dropped only 1 point in each of his last 2 appearances, while Aaron Summers has been nothing short of outstanding in the opening weeks of the season. It?s this top end strength that has helped Pole Michal Rajkowski settle at his new base with minimal pressure and also allowed Sean Stoddart to gently ease himself into the new campaign.

In the Bandits? ranks, there?s one very familiar face, none other than Monarchs? asset William Lawson. William was, of course, a vital part of our ultra successful 2008 season and it will be a delight to welcome him back to his spiritual home. Let?s hope he breaks the track record, scores a maximum and ends the night on the losing side!!

While William is generally super smooth around sunny Armadale, the same cannot be said for the perennially aggressive Czech Michal Makovsky! On the positive side, he can be spectacular to watch but the good is often overshadowed by daft moments, probably the worst of which occurred last year in the shape of the infamous ?helmet throwing? incident. On current form, there?s no better rider in the Premier League so perhaps the ?danger man? tag will have the points scoring meaning applied to it this time!

Makovsky?s fellow countryman, Josef Franc, returned to the Bandits following a spell with Newcastle. ?Pepe? is a decent wee rider although, at his age, he?s probably reached his limit in terms of how far he?ll go in the sport. That?s not to say he can?t be a reliable performer for whichever side he represents. He?s also scored very well in previous visits to West Lothian.

In the middle order, Berwick boast Englishman Paul Clews and Finn Tero Aarnio. Clews was possibly the busiest rider in the country in late 2007, such was the demand for his services. This was due to a very low interim average (3.00) which allowed him to guest for pretty much any rider in the League. Even us Monarchs used him on more than one occasion. Thanks for the points Sir!

Meanwhile, Aarnio has an excellent claim to fame in that he?s the first rider on the alphabetical speedway list! He?s ridden sunny Armadale a few times but has never really got to grips with its? tight turns. His bosses (not to mention the man himself!) will be hoping for better on this occasion.

At reserve, Italian Guglielmo Franchetti?s Armadale injury jinx is more notable than any on track achievements. The ice cream lover has been much improved this year and will be hoping his previous (brief!) experience of the Scotwaste Arena will help him achieve a reasonable return, while the easily recognisable Danny Warwick has never pulled up any trees, which is rather surprising given the fact he looks like he?s got branches sticking out of his head!

Whatever happens, I do have one request and that is for the weather to be just a smidgen warmer than last week? Thanking you in advance!

As always, may the best team win...

Likely line-ups:

Monarchs: Ryan Fisher, Aaron Summers, Thomas H Jonasson, Derek Sneddon, Matthew Wethers, Michal Rajkowski, Sean Stoddart.

Bandits: William Lawson, Paul Clews, Tero Aarnio, Josef Franc, Michal Makovsky, Guglielmo Franchetti, Danny Warwick.